, 1887-06-08
VERY HARD TO LEARN.
fh' faanlai ms.hod. Of rsnel.inE The

The Painfui Methods of TeacliiuE the
Paris Coryphees tn Dance.
Every day the pupil imprisons her lest
in a pair of narrow cases, in which. Heel
to heel, the tortured limbs are tccii-
toned to remain in q parallel position.
After half an hour in these cases another
torture is substituted. This time one
foot is placed on a bar, which is held by
the hand opposite to the foot which is he
ing exercised. and both foot and hand are
changed at the word of command. And
it must not be imagined that these hard
tests have to be undergone only for a
certain time. They have always to be
continued if the dancer wishes to pre-
serve her elasticity. A single week Of
rest has to be paid for with several
months of double and Uninterrupted
work.
The fable of Sisyphus and his rock is
realized by the ballet dancer. She is the
race horse which parts with its rest, its
~embonpoint and its liberty for the rapid
victories in the field. NJ. T. Second tells
in his curious 'Petits MYSTERIES de
lOpera" that Mile. Taglioni, after a two
hours lesson by her father, fell fainting
on the 6oo Of her room and remained
unconscious While she was undressed,
sponged and redressed. The lightness of
her marvellous dancing before the audi
ence was paid for with such a price.
Mile. Taglioni's example is vigorously fol-
lowed by other dancers, and there are
some who, through bodily defects, nave
unusual difficulties to overcome, and who
torture themselves with a barbarous
ferocity. These daily exercises having
come to an end, all the different steps
are gone through, the professor rapidly
indicating the changes from one step to
an )ther. And how hot tho poor creatures
become! some moan and sigh; some
gasp and cough; others can scarcely
stand on their feet. With the dancers
only the legs grow stout, sometimes, in
deed, too much SO; but their arms, their
shoulders, their chests are a pitiful sight.
AT a dancing lesson on the stage of the
Paris opera all the ladies are dressed in
cotton or flannel, which leaves their arms
and shoulders bare, with a garment down
to their knees and boots like the cothur-
u The wealthy among them have
costly fur coats; the poor have thin,
shabby shawls or waterproofs to wrap
themselves in after the performance is
over. On the stage two dim lights arc
burning; several gentlemen stand about,
N of them carrying a baton. The Or
chestra consists of two violins. The
maitre de ballet, beating the floor with
his baton, calls out: Nov then, ladies,
silence, if you pleased We begin again.
The second tableau." And assuming the
attitude which his pupils are to assume,
he shouts: Attention. The prison scene
and the prisoners stepl You are chained,
you-you sacre bleu! look toward the
sky, toward the sky, I tell you'll Cross
your hands and put one foot forward.
Unfasten your hands. Quicklyl Put
your foot backl" Not infrequently the
baton is used for other purposes than
merely to beat time, and the lesson goes
on amid scolding and cursing. All the
dancers take part in it, from the very
young, the poor and the innocent, who
try to embellish themselves with a bunch
of violets or a piece Of bright ribbon and
a pair of brass earrings, to the grand
ladies sparkling with diamonds from be-
hind the dim scenes, like Indian idols in
the depths of the pagodas of Juggernaut.
Boston Herald.